Congressional rankings: conservative edition

Every year since 1971, the American Conservative Union has ranked members of Congress based on how conservative or liberal they were based on their voting records.

The most recent rankings were based on legislators’ 2012 voting records on 25 specific issues. The issues varied some between the House and the Senate, but they included votes on government reform, earmarks, the Keystone Pipeline, union election rules and climate change.

Eight Senators received a “perfect” conservative score, including both Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.

Democrats and Tea Party organizations have both expressed displeasure with McConnell, and both have started putting out feelers for possible candidates to challenge McConnell in 2014. I just wonder what they will make of his “”perfect” conservative rating.

In the House of Representatives, 34 members received perfect scores.

Among Kentucky’s Congressmen, Rep. Brett Guthrie (who was until recently Marion County’s representative in Congress) received a true conservative rating, which means he voted in line with the ACU’s position at least 80 percent of the time.

Our current Congressman, Ed Whitfield, received a rating of 79, which means he just missed the “true conservative” cut, according to the ACU rating system.

The only Kentucky’s legislator to receive a “true liberal” rating was Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville. His label means that the ACU feels he voted the liberal position 100 percent of the time.

The full 44-page report can be downloaded for free. It includes a description of the issues used to determine the rankings and a breakdown of how Congressional members voted on those issues.

Whether you consider yourself a conservative or a liberal, the report is informative about how your federal legislators have voted.